The sport of snowboarding is a result of the combination and modification of various elements from the skiing and skateboarding sports. However, unlike snowskiing and skateboarding, snowboarding requires that both feet of the rider be attached to a single board. Waterskiing, too, differs from snowboarding in that the waterskiier is simply pulled by a boat, whereas a snowboard rider's primary motive force is gravity. In addition, the snowboard rider must be able to assume a variety of body positions in order to maneuver the board. Therefore, the binding or apparatus used to attach the snowboard rider's feet to the board should provide enough strength and positional versatility to meet the above requirements and each different riding style.
Traditional snowboard binding systems are comprised of molded, plastic footplates that are mounted to the snowboard via machine screws and inserts. The snowboard bindings include toe and heel straps or clips which are used to secure to rider's boot to the binding system. In order to properly mount the binding onto the snowboard, the rider must first determine the appropriate step-span and rotational positions for his feet. After this is accomplished, the binding is mounted onto the snowboard.
A disadvantage associated with the above mentioned snowboard binding is the lack of positional fine adjustment. Snowboards are typically manufactured with a predetermined pattern of threaded inserts. Art example of such a pattern is a 4 cm.times.4 cm square. Thus, the binding can only be rotationally adjusted by increments of 12 degrees and longitudinally adjusted by increments of 4 cm.
In order to provide greater rotational versatility, snowboard binding systems, comprised of a hold-down plate and a binding plate, were developed. For this particular type of binding system, the binding plate is held at the desired rotational orientation and the hold-down plate is mounted onto the binding plate and, subsequently, screwed into the snowboard. Although this binding system allows for an infinite number of rotational positions, it is still limited in the number of longitudinal positions available for the snowboard rider.
Due to the above mentioned disadvantages associated with traditional binding systems, there is a need for a snowboard binding system which provides the snowboard rider with adequate positional versatility to accommodate a variety of riding stances and maneuvers.